General Zodd's take on "meta-gaming" is actually exactly what it means in the LARP/RPG communities, i.e. using information you have as a player to alter what your character (or someone else's) does or how they react. An example from a LARP: if I play a paladin and know (as a player/real world player) that my best friend plays a demon worshiping necromancer (but my character ha no clue), and I just walk up to him and beat him senseless, that's meta gaming. And by that definition, in that context and community, often viewed as outright cheating.

I've honestly never heard meta referred to in that way in the board/card/miniatures game arena, and while bringing a list tailor built to beat an opponent's certainly fits that definition, I think we can all just call it douchebaggery to keep from adding significant negative connotations to an already loaded term.

Let's say you know exactly what list I am taking. Can you then build a list that has advantages vs the weakness of my list, without having much weakness at all to my list?

Probably!

But of course you don't know what list I will bring - however, if you play casually, and you know what ships and builds are popular in your area. - you know your local meta (metagame) - so you can try to build a list that will be pretty strong against the kinds of lists you are likely to see. Everyone plays soontir? Bring something that kills soontir!

But - that's Vizzini's mindgame isn't it - I know that you'll play soontir, so i'll build a list that kills soontir, but you know that I'll bring a list that defeats soontir, so you won't bring soontir, but something that kills things that kill soontir. And I know that you know that so I'll bring soontir myself! but you know that I know that you know... and soontir's all the way down. So that's the game about the game.

The internet meta (what you read on the boards + what you play on vassal) tend to be pretty representative of the kinds of lists people are playing all over, but they aren't always representative of what you will find at your local game store. Whenever a new wave is released, the meta "shakes" - popular lists are redefined, old lists suddenly find themselves countered by something new - or find something new to make them stronger.

Luckily - the Meta is also not everything - being unaware of it will make it hard to know if you have a weak list for your area, but the game is often so decided by intilial placement , initial approach maneuvers, targeting choices and dice - that you can win even bad matchups (Where the opponent is playing a list with advantages against yours). The best players are generally really good at that part of the game, and also able to make a good call about what kind of lists they may face.

If you plan on rocking up to a tournament, it's definitely worth taking at least a cursory glance at the state of the metagame, as it will help you create a list that has a fighting chance of beating the list you can be sure you will face a lot.

EDUCATIONAL TIME WITH ME, THE ANGRY GUY WHO LOVES X-WINGS:

The currant 'meta' list is 'Triple U-Boat', which put in it's simplest terms is 3 ships stuffed full of reliable, accurate Ordnance. Therefore, when creating a list that you hope will win you a major event, you will need to include certain elements in you list to deal with this.

All Ordnance requires some sort of action to fire: either a Focus or Target Lock.

This means the easiest way to counter lists with Ordnance in them is to work in some action denial elements. This could be Stress (you'd need to double stress them though), but the easiest way to prevent actions is Blocking, AKA flying your ship into where you think they will be so they bump, denying them an action).

SOOOoo... It would be wise, if you want to have the best possible chance of winning a tournament in which you expect many players to be flying lists containing ordnance, to work in a good blocking ship (A-Wing, TIE Fighter), or some stress control (Stresshog).

Meta is a dirty word and should not be used in polite company

And like the weather in the Midwest, if you don't like the current meta, wait fifteen minutes... it'll change.

4 x TLT Y-wings is being played a lot and talked about when people are discussing the game. People are building lists that can defeat this type of a list. Talking about and strategizing your list is metagaming. It's the game of the game. Thinking about what other people are going to take and how to beat it. That's what it means.

I remember when I first started haunting these forums (pre-TLT) and the best use for a Y-wing was said to be as a spoon for your cereal. Now they are dominating. Will they in three months? It's part of the great fun of X-wing to wait and see!

The "Meta" is what you can expect to encounter. The "Meta" can vary vastly depending on who or where you play with.

If you only play with a closed circle of friends, then the "Meta" is what your friends own.

If you play at your FLGS then the "Meta" becomes wider and depends on what is popular at the FLGS.

Sometimes certain squads can become really popular (eg TLTs, Wolfpack, BBBBZ, Brobots, etc) some times a particular ship is particularly effective (eg Stresshog, Fat Han, Doom Shuttle, etc) and can be found in various squadlists.

Meta is a dirty word and should not be used in polite company

No it really isn't. Chasing the meta however is a problem. Saying the metagame is a dirty word is like saying knowledge is a dirty word.

The meta is simply the collection of all the data about X-Wing out there. Things like list juggler, the store championship reports, discussions of list building and tactics, ect... There is nothing inherently wrong about any of those things.

What causes a problem is group think where people blindly accept that the general consensus is always correct. That causes people to not think for themselves and simply accept it when 'everyone says ship X is bad' without giving it any thought on their own.

Quite often the general consensus is actually correct, but not aways. Everyone knew the Shuttle would be a bad ship when it came out, until someone figured out how use it effectively. Then after he proved it, everyone accepted it, and it became widely used.

But all of that was part of the meta, so to say the meta is a bad thing means we shouldn't of discussed how the shuttle could of be used effectively and changed the meta.

The term I'm starting to use is chasing the meta, that's the thing most people have an issue with. Where someone see's that 4 TLT's or 3 Scouts with X, Y and Z are the new hot thing and rushes out to buy them. They may not even understand why it's good, and sometimes can't even make it work.

But that also does not mean any time you see someone fly the latest meta list that they are netlisting. A lot of people are going to look at the new ships and come to same conclusions about what can be done with them. You can and will see people play 4 TLT's or 3 Scouts but have never visited this site or any other site for that matter.

But again to say the meta is bad is really saying that knowledge and sharing ideas is bad.

Edit: The idea that you should only fly the meta lists, that's a problem. It's like money, people often misquote which really shows a serious lack of understanding their part the proverb "the love of money is the root of all evil", by leaving out the love of part, and instead claim that money itself is the root.

...like I said. Meaningless.

And like I said you're wrong. If you're going to play at a tournament, you have to understand what the current meta is, or else you will be playing with a serious handicap.

The meta lists may not be the best lists, they may be something some people don't consider fun. But they are what you're likely to see at store championships and beyond.

Also the term has a very clear meaning so you are are also quite simply factually wrong.

Even if you don't play in tournaments, just the mere fact that you you bring a given list because you know it's a good counter to what someone else is likely to play, you're involved in the metagame.

Meta might also mean that sarcasm is over your head?

Meta might also mean that sarcasm is over your head?

If you mean the light speed lizards post? No because we've had this debate before. We tend to agree on a lot, but not this.